Quarles racks up on big deer with limited hunting opportunities
When a baseball player gets three hits in three at bats, you can say he’s having a great game.
But when a deer hunter goes three for three – three bucks in three hunts – that may be an even bigger accomplishment.
Kelly Quarles, of Ruston, is a mom to three children so her time on the deer stand has been limited this season. In fact, she’s only gotten to hunt two days on land she and her husband own in Lincoln Parish.
Fortunately, she’s made the most of it, because on her first hunt this season she downed a nice 8-point buck.
And on her second hunt from the same box stand on Nov. 17, she put the crosshairs of her .308 bolt action on the vitals of a big 9-point that rough scored more than 130 inches.
“My husband, Michael, had pictures of this buck on his trail camera and told me that if I wanted to get him, I needed to get on the stand,” Quarles said.
But there was a problem because on that Monday afternoon, someone needed to watch their children. So Michael came to the rescue and agreed to look after two of the kids while Kelly took 8-year-old Ella with her to the stand.
“We knew this big deer was out there, so I was hopeful we’d get to see him that afternoon,” she said. “And as luck would have it, he showed up and I got him.
“I was watching one of the four lanes that extend out from our box stand when a doe came out to the food plot and began feeding. While I was watching her, I saw another deer 200 yards down the lane and recognized it as the big buck we had on camera.”
The buck started heading toward the doe and when he turned broadside, Quarles was able to put the crosshairs on him and squeezed off a shot.
“I told Ella to cover her ears when I shot. The deer jumped so I felt like I had made a good hit on him. I called Michael and told him I’d shot the big buck and he headed my way to look for the deer,” she said.
Getting down from the stand before Michael arrived, Kelly walked to where the deer had stood and immediately found good blood, so she was confident she had made a solid shot. Ultimately, the deer only traveled about 40 yards before going down.
The buck, estimated to be 4 ½ years old, weighed 175 pounds and was rough-scored at just more than 130 inches, with an 18 ½-inch inside spread.
Downing two good bucks in two hunts is pretty good, but Quarles completed the trifecta the following week, when she and Michael motored over to land they own in Oklahoma to hunt.
On her first trip there, she downed a beautiful 14-point buck that rough scored more than 165 inches.
Going three for three is an achievement any baseball player – or deer hunter – should be happy to accomplish. Here’s hoping she’s able to keep that streak going.
Don’t forget to enter photos of your bucks in the Nikon Big Buck Photo Contest to be eligible for monthly giveaways and the random drawing for Nikon Monarch binoculars at the end of the contest.
Read other stories about big bucks killed this season by clicking here.
